A computerized numerical control system and a laser oscillator are coupled to each other to provide a numerically controlled material processing apparatus for carrying out more complex machining at high speed and with high accuracy.
FIG. 2 shows a control system for a laser oscillator and a work table of a conventional laser material processing apparatus. The laser oscillator, denoted at 1, is energized by a power supply 3 which supplies its output through a power supply cable 11 to the laser oscillator 1. In the laser oscillator 1, various devices such as a gas regulator which require sequence control are controlled by a programmable controller (PC) 2. The cable 9 transmits signals between the programmable controller 2 and the laser oscillator 1. The programmable controller 2 controls not only the laser oscillator 1, but also the power supply 3. An output laser beam from the laser oscillator 1 passes through a beam guide 6 to a beam focusing system 7 by which the output laser beam is converged onto a workpiece 8. The workpiece 8 is fixedly mounted on a work table 4 that is controlled by a computerized numerical control system (CNC) 5.
The conventional system as described above has the following problems:
The first problem is that the entire apparatus is large in size and complex and its components are separated. Therefore, its installation and maintenance are timeconsuming, and the space factor thereof is bad.
The second problem is that the data processing abilities of the computerized numerical control system 5 and the laser oscillator 1 or the power supply 3 are not balanced, and complex control of the laser oscillator 1 cannot be performed by the power supply 3.
The third drawback is that as the programmable controller 2 and the computerized numerical control system 5 have electrically common portions, the redundancy is high and the arrangement is not economical.